Finally! NFL Week 9 Picks are here

To try to understand the 2021 NFL season There is a strange statistic, but one that casts clarity: Since he started playing football in high school, never in his lifePatrick Mahomes was intercepted in seven consecutive games as happened this year.

Except for the first Sunday of the season, when the narrative presumed that in his NFL career, Mahomes had not suffered losses in September or passes interceptedYes, the Chiefs quarterback has had to deal with the accuracy of his deliveries due to the great pressure generated by opposing defenders.

This is the NFL of our day, the dynamics of the unthinkable.A carousel of absurdities.

As the season approaches the halfway point, there is less clarity about possible outcomes. So far on the calendar, en 37 times, a team that entered the last period down on the board, turned history around to end the game ball in the locker room.

Just last week, eight outfits (Dallas, Kansas City, New England, New Orleans, New York Jets, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Tennessee), they accomplished the feat. Only in 2012 (38), in the league there were more victories for a team that started losing in the final 15 minutes of the game.

Also in Week 8, five games were decided by three or fewer points. Two teams outperformed. Deficits of at least 10 points to win: Tennessee trailed by 14 points before defeating Indianapolis, 34-31, in overtime, while the New York Jets erased an 11-point difference in the fourth quarter to beat Cincinnati, 34 -31.

Although I cannot affirm what the future holds, I can relate the teachings of our past. Within the arrhythmia in the behavior of the NFL, there is a situation that is a trend and we must consider in each of our selections.

This season visitors have a percentage dand victory of .516, that is, 63 wins out of 122 games correspond to the organizations on the road.

In the same Week 9, the 2021 season will reach the middle and cross the equator. Let’s give thanks to a 17-game schedule that shattered the beauty of the 16-game season that it was a perfect square easily divisible into even numbers of conference and divisional matchups. So asymmetrical is the current campaign, as my accountability for what happened on the eighth Sunday of the year. I only got seven predictions right. There is not much to say, but there is much to do.

GAME OF THE WEEK

Packers (-1) at Chiefs:

The midpoint of the professional football season, top with a meeting between two teams that last season were postseason contenders. The Packers enter Week 9 with a seven-game winning streak.

Kansas City is coming off surviving on Monday Night Football against the Giants. While on the surface we might think Green Bay is the A-side for Sunday afternoon’s showdown, the pedigree of the rivalry has to be remembered.

Since 2018, when Patrick Mahomes took control of the Kansas City offense, these two organizations Chiefs (42-14, .750) and Packers (39-16-1, .705) are two of the four teams with a winning percentage above. 700.There is no one who can deny that Mahomes (2018 NFL MVP) and Aaron Rodgers (2020 NFL MVP) are two of the best players in the NFL in the most recent four seasons.

So far the script was perfect. The narrative of the game changed when on Wednesday morning, it was announced that Aaron Rodgers was infected with coronavirus so he will not be in Sunday’s game. Rodgers is part of the contingent of players who decided not to take the vaccine. A person considered a leader, he preferred to maintain his antivaxxer stance than to group together like the rest.

Now the Packers will start with second-year quarterback Jordan Lover.

There is no more important position in the footbal than that of quarterback. So decisive is Rodgers’ absence that the betting lines will shift dramatically when his downfall is confirmed. Attention to detail.

On Thursday of last week, the Packers ended the Cardinals’ undefeated campaign in a game that ended strangely when Kyler Murray was intercepted.

The Chiefs won their fourth game of the year on Monday Night, but they are still suffering from a flurry of turnovers. Mahomes accumulates 10 interceptions to lead the league in this department. The historic rivalry between these two teams is for the Chiefs 7-4-1 although the Packers have won the last two, the most recent in 2019.

Since Matt LaFleur took over as the Packers’ head coach in 2019, Green Bay is 33-7 in its first 40 regular season games.r. In NFL history, only Hall of Famer Guy Chamberlein had the most wins as head coach in his first 40 games. Packers. 28-24 Chiefs

SURE PICK

Bills (-14.5) at Jaguars:

Josh Allen brushed off the rust that got him a week off and with a brilliant second half, finished with 249 yards and two touchdowns without turnovers against Miami. The Bills defense is classified as part of the elite contingent of the NFL with protagonists like Ed Oliver, Tre-Davious White, Micah Hyde, among others.

They are eager to chase rookie Trevor Lawarance. The Jaguars’ defense is 26th in points of their rivals. Jacksonville has lost 21 of its last 22 games.

Buffalo leads in points scored per game (32.7) as the fewest points allowed per game (15.6). Only two teams since the league’s merger in 1970 have finished a season leading the NFL in both categories: the 1972 Dolphins and the 1996 Packers. Bills 35-20 Jaguars

UPSET

Bears at Pittsburgh (-6.5):

Yes, the Bears have an offense that is on the bottom rung of the league. A franchise that only averages 264 yards and 15.4 points per game. Still, they have rookie Justin Fields a man unknown to most defenses.

If linebacker Khalil Mack and defensive back Eddie Jackson recoverChicago, Chicago’s defense that has kept games tight, can complicate Ben Roethlisberger and his anemic offense.

Steelers is coming off beating the Browns with running back Najee Harris as their main weapon. Ben Roethlisberger is 16-6 in 22 games as a Monday Night starter. However, if there is a game where the surprise is more than latent, this is it. Bears 20-17 Steelers.

TWO MINUTE DRILL

Jets at Colts (-10.5):

Backup Mike White did a good job as the Jets’ quarterback guiding them to a surprise win over the Bengals. He racked up more than 400 yards and threw three touchdown passes. The Colts should have beaten the Titans but again they found their way to lose. The Jets have lost 31 of their last 33 games, it will be no different. Jets 21-24 Colts

Browns at Bengals (-2.5):

Showdown in the north of the AFC. The Browns are too talented to go 4-4, but injuries have hit the team again. The Bengals are looking for blood after the loss to the Jets and with Joe Burrow hooking up with Ja’mar Chase like he was in college, they will. Browns 17-27 Bengals.

Broncos at Cowboys (-10.0):

The Cowboys return home to meet the Broncos. The last time the teams met in Dallas, on October 6, 2013, Tony Romo and Peyton Manning combined for a 920-yard shootout and nine touchdown passes. Let’s not expect to see the same, but a Dallas domain does: Broncos 20-27 Cowboys.

Texans at Dolphins (-6-5):

By the time Miami is the betting favorite for more than one touchdown, we all know what to expect from that game. The most interesting thing to see between these two organizations was the possible change of quarterback Deshaun Watson and it did not materialize.Texans 14-20 Dolphins

Falcons at Saints (-6):

If there is one team that is difficult to decipher, it is the Saints. One day they play as an All Pro team and other times as participants in the mud bowl. Quarterback Jameis Winston is out all season with injury, but the good news for the Saints is that backup Trevor Simian managed to beat Tom Brady. Falcons 24-28 Saints

Raiders (-3) at Giants:

The Raiders are coming off eight days off, so running back Josh Jacobs and tight end Darren Waller are very likely healed. That’s extraordinary news for Las Vegas on a turbulent start to the week after catcher Henry Rugs III was involved in a car accident that killed one person. Raiders 20-14 Giants

Patriots (-4) at Carolina:

Without the spotlight from before, the Patriots play better every week and rookie Mac Jones looks like he was a great draft pick. The Panthers and Sam Darnols currently play .500 in winning percentage within two games of the leading Buccaneers in the NFC South. Patriots 24-17 Panthers

Vikings at Ravens (-5.5):

Kirk Cousins ​​has completed 70 percent of his passes and only two interceptions. The Ravens are sitting at the top of the NFC North and playing at home they are a near-lethal foe. Vikings 28-30 Ravens

Chargers (-2.5) at Eagles:

Last week’s loss to the Patriots made it seem like the Chargers aren’t as strong as we think they are. The defense allowed New England to score 11 points in the fourth quarter. Similarly. Chargers 30-27 Eagles

Cardinals at 49ers (Pick):

The Cardinals, who are tied with the Rams for the league’s best road record (4-0), travel to face San Francisco. Arizona has road wins this year over the Titans, Jaguars, Rams and Browns, and each of those road wins has been by at least 12 points. They will do the same again Cardinals 33-27 49ers

Titans at Rams (-7.5):

Derrick Henry is out with injury, the Titans are out of the title conversation. Titans 14-30 Rams